Leaning

Got to work on Wednesday and the building had no water. After returning from my second field trip, we got word that the building would close. One of my coworkers squealed and many smiled. Even though I had to do some work from home, I was happy too. I looked for a yoga class to jump into but the timing didn't work. Hashtag -- can't have everything.

But wait...the water folks wouldn't finish until noon the next day so we reported at 1. It was an unexpected gift that I appreciated tremendously since my reservoir was about depleted.

I slept beautifully, stretched like a cat in the morning then rolled out. I had time to make it to a yoga class and time to stop by Trader Joe's.

Alison had already given me intel on Jim, the yoga teacher. I wrote her back to say that, yes, he is a slow, smooth operator.

During class, I realized how much I like gate pose.

Poses that I remember that I like:

Gate

Fish

Half Moon 

Savasana

I've been reading an old O: The Oprah Magazine (June 2013). In that issue, Oprah interviews Brene Brown who talks about foreboding joy and dress-rehearsing tragedy. Brown mentions this man, married for 40 years, who never got too excited about anything because he didn't want to be disappointed but when he heard that his wife had been killed, he realized that he should have leaned harder into those moments of joy.

Maybe joy is what I was leaning into in gate pose...

The Golden Opportunity or The Gospel According to My Gentle Yoga Teachers

My Expression of Gate Pose, Modified

Jaime

It's very good to do shoulder shrugs and neck rotations. In China, people do this every day. This area (neck) is the connection between the mind and body and has a lot of nerves it. If this area is tight and tense, a lot of problems can occur.

You have a golden opportunity to improve yourself during yoga...

Forehead to the Floor................ During Child's Pose

Be gentle with the neck...


Donna

This hour is about you and only you.

The only person that you should be worried about is you on your mat.

It's your practice. Do whatever you wish or wish not to do...

In any class that you're in, if you're tired or don't feel like doing a pose, you can go into Child's Pose -- no questions asked; it's a restorative pose.

Extend your leg back and curl your toes under for a yummy calf stretch.

I don't know of any exercise where you hold your breath except for a breath-holding contest.

And now we come to the most important part...savasana.